Florida State gets big haul at O-line for National Signing Day

It may have been overshadowed by one of the most stunning flips in college football recruiting history, but that doesn't mean Florida State didn't do exactly what it needed to do on the offensive line on Wednesday.

While Travis Hunter was busy shocking the world by committing to Jackson State, head coach Mike Norvell and offensive line coach Alex Atkins were still excited about what they brought in at a position of perhaps the greatest need on the team: Offensive line.

"The thing that we really wanted to do was we wanted to get bigger," Norvell said. "And take guys with the size that they have but also the athletic ability that they possess, I think this is going to be a special group when it's all said and done."

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The Seminoles signed five offensive linemen on Wednesday, highlighted by five-star prospect Julian Armella.

The Miami native became the first five-star offensive lineman to sign with the Seminoles in the Rivals.com era, dating back to 2002. He made his pledge at 10 p.m. on Wednesday night, ending an up-and-down National Signing Day for Norvell and his staff.

And while he was the most heralded of the offensive line haul, Armella was far from the only big-time player to ink with Florida State on National Signing Day.

Four-star Jaylen Early out of Duncanville, Texas is listed at 6-foot-4, 320 pounds and is considered one of the top 20 offensive linemen in the country by multiple outlets.

"He's a fearless kid," said FSU offensive line coach Alex Atkins, who is expected to soon be named the Seminoles' new offensive coordinator. "That's a big-time decision to come all the way to Tallahassee. ... Athletic. Recovery. Started as a D-lineman.

"He played guard, tackle, everything. He comes from a big-time program ... so, I'm fired up for him."

Fellow offensive line signee Kanaya Charlton is even bigger than Early.

He's listed at 6-5, 354 pounds and could very well be the Valedictorian of the 2022 Brunswick High School (Ga.) senior class. He's a consensus three-star recruit but is one of the biggest offensive linemen in the country.

"He's a massive human being," Atkins said. "He's a guy that brings a big-man attitude that can not only maul and move people out of the way, but he can athletically recover. I got to go watch him in a rainstorm ... and you'd have thought he was in sunshine as much fun as he was having."

Daughtry Richardson is another three-star recruit according to RIvals.com. He's a Tallahassee native but is currently a senior at Miami Central High School, the same program which produced Dalvin Cook and Devonta Freeman among many, many others.

He's a four-star recruit in the ESPN rankings and is considered one of the top 40 offensive linemen in the country by multiple outlets. He is currently listed at 6-5, 285 pounds.

"What I like about Daughtry is he's long, lean, athletic, his hands are huge," Atkins said. "He's that true developmental tackle. He gives me the vibes of the kind of guys we develop. He's just got to get a little heavier in his upper body."

Atkins said he also liked the fact that Richardson was moved to guard at times in high school and showed some serious physicality in opening up holes for the Miami Central running backs.

And finally, there's Qae'shon Sapp, a 6-4, 325 pound prospect from Lee County High School.

Sapp is ranked as the No. 12 offensive guard nationally by Rivals and is the No. 25 overall prospect in the state of Georgia.

"Sapp is a big dog," Atkins said. "He's just that alpha dog coming up from Lee County, just right up the road. He's been the leader of the class. He's always been vocal. He was early. ... He's been a consistent rock for us.

"I think he can be the glue in that room."

And when he looks at the totality of that room, specifically the newcomers getting set to join in 2022, Atkins and Norvell both said they liked the versatility this class of linemen has.

Some are guards. Some are tackles. Some can perhaps do both. Which is a big deal.

"One of the major issues we had was if we had one or two injuries we would be in trouble because of the limited guys we had," Atkins said. "So, we had to cross-train. Now, I'm bringing in guys that I want to be able to play on the edge but can also move inside easily. And be able to do both. And then have those big mauler guys that can last."

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